On Tuesday, February 26, ten NDA students were inducted into the Chinese National Honor Society.

This was the first year NDA has had this program and in order to be a member, students have to have taken four semesters of Chinese with a 3.0 average.

On top of getting into the society with their grades, they also have to do five hours of community service that relate to Chinese language and culture.

The induction was held in the NDA Chapel where the inductees and their parents came together to celebrate their success in this program.

At the ceremony itself, the students took the oath in both English and Chinese and participated in a candle lighting before signing their names in the NCHS chapter book.

They then made speeches, some in Chinese, and learned about the meaning of the NCHS cord and enjoyed a cultural performance.

“In witnessing their induction, I was once again thankful to be part of a Catholic school that fulfills its mission on behalf of our children,” said Patrick Browne, NDA’s principal.

Chinese brings a unique opportunity to the students who take the class to learn about a language and culture that is completely out of the usual realm of knowledge. This is an opportunity that many appreciate.

“My mom signed me up when I was little, and I love how unique it is and how it is going to help in the future,” said Megan Zazuly, an inductee of CNHS.

Another student, Logan Tennity, mentioned that it will help him in a potential future profession and is a good challenge in his class load. “I took Chinese because it would be good for business and I appreciate the challenge,” he said.

Less than a week after this induction, 18 NDA students headed down to Milwaukee on Saturday to participate in the state Chinese speech contest.

When preparing for this contest, students wrote their own speech in Chinese, and once they arrived, they presented it in front of judges.

This contest was organized by the Wisconsin Association of Chinese Language Teachers, which Qiuhong Zhang, NDA’s Mandarin teacher, has been a member of for the last nine years.